Finished reading this book over a month ago, and not sure how I missed posting my review, as I really enjoyed the book. Russell Banks is one of the author’s that I would like to read the entire cannon.

The frame of the story is the author (a fictional Banks) found these tapes and he edited them for this story, which is an old man telling about his youth.

Harley Mann came of age in a Shaker community in Florida, where he fell in love, which was forbidden. She was older and sick with tuberculosis, and of course this not going to end well. It was told so realistically that it felt as if true. Good storytelling! Good narration too.

This is one of my favorite reads of the year.

I requested this book because I love Disney World and saw the name in the book's description. This read like a memoir that I could not put down, and while the story isn't exactly what I was expecting, I loved every page. Banks knows how to tell a story. This was my first book by him, and I'm excited to read his backlist.

Telling the story from the point of view of an 81 year old man looking back at his childhood and young adult life allowed the author to look at what the passage of time does to our memories. In this novel, Harley is raised in various commune-type settings until his father dies and his mother moves with her 5 children to a Shaker compound in south central Florida. The majority of the book covers his teen years there, his admiration for his mentor Elder John (the leader), and his attraction to a young woman suffering from tuberculosis. Of course tension builds when Harley is confronted with a moral and ethical dilemma that threatens his Shaker family.

The writing is absolutely superb; the descriptions of the swampy areas and how it is made habitable really bring the reader into the story, especially when we learn that this country’s largest amusement park buys the land to build on. But the really genius is the emotion the author brings and the issues the reader is confronted with: right/wrong, is betrayal justifiable, when is truth a lie, sin vs, law.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alfred A Knopf Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I loved the premise and story line of this book but felt the execution was a bit muddled and slow.

Russel Banks’ The Magic Kingdom is a dense, fascinating read. I’ve always loved learning about alternative/utopian cultures and Banks’ delve into the Shakers is not only scholarly, but also compelling and engaging, combining history and facts with likable characters and beautiful descriptive passages. I give The Magic Kingdom four out of five stars and will search out other titles by Russel Banks.

Meandering. Verbose. Full of extraneous details. I could not find my way to a thread that made me want to keep reading this book, and was frustrated with so much repetition. DNF

This is an interesting book. I am glad I read it. I think that Russell Banks is a great storyteller. This is not my favorite of his books, but I did enjoy the overall premise of it. I found myself wondering - is this fact or fiction, and according to the publisher blurbs it is loosely based on historical events.

I think that Russell Banks is a great storyteller. This book had a lot that interested me, and I am glad to have read it - the descriptions of the development of land around the Disney area in central Florida was quite interesting. I was intrigued with a thought comparison of this book and A Land Remembered - similar scenario's about the land development of Miami based on the concepts of a young boy growing up during those times. Florida is a fairly "young" state and it's rapid growth and development is an interesting process to learn about. It helps the reader to understand present day Florida and how it has developed into what it has.

I know little of Shaker/Utopian life, and some of the concepts intrigued me. At the same time I was a little bogged down with details that were continually doled out and repeated to the reader. I think the storyline was fascinating, and the characters were interesting to learn about. That said, I am not sure I quite understood the relationships between several of the main characters. There was a monotony of sorts, and I did not quite get emotionally attached to any of them, making it harder to feel any real passion form anyone in particular. When you are not emotionally attached to a story through love of a character (or respect, admiration, even hatred) it is hard to be truly passionate about a storyline. It is worth the read for several reasons, but it does take a little while to get to the conclusion.

This is my first book by this American author and I found myself fully engaged with it, perhaps because I recently visited the Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire where I learned more about the Shakers.

The book is structured as a transcript of audiotapes recorded by Harley Mann, 81, in 1971. A retired real estate speculator, Harley focuses on his childhood in the early 20th century, especially his time with the New Bethany Shaker Colony in the part of Florida where the Magic Kingdom Theme Park at Disney World is located. The commune is led by Elder John Bennett who becomes Harley’s mentor and Eldress Mary Glynn, the community’s spiritual advisor. Honesty, hard work, equality, and celibacy are guiding principles of the Shakers, which Harley follows until he becomes totally obsessed with Sadie Pratt, a consumptive patient with ties to the Shakers. Hurt and angry after a tragic event, he takes an action which has a devastating impact on the Shakers and his own life, leaving him with “a lifelong guilty conscience.”

Harley is an interesting character. After a very difficult time following the death of his father, the Shakers provide him with stability. He is fed, clothed, and given shelter and an education, though he is expected to work for the commune without remuneration. He is asked to live by the principles of the Shakers, though he need not become a Shaker; at the age of 21 he would be able to decide whether his future would be amongst the Shakers or in the outside world. He, however, reacts to a devastating loss by “[tearing] apart the close-woven fabric of love and trust that had kept New Bethany together.” The reader will feel some sympathy for him, but will also be very frustrated with him. Of course, Harley pays a heavy price for his betrayal.

The novel’s title is perfect. It is not so much a reference to Disney World as it is to “the Shakers’ magic kingdom” which Harley helps destroy. He doesn’t realize what he had until it’s gone, and then spends his life trying to regain it. His purchase of New Bethany land, his building of a model of the village, and his narration of what happened are clearly symbols of that desire. One obsession is replaced by another? On the other hand, Disney’s Magic Kingdom is described as “a state-sized sinkhole to the American dream.”

I did wish there were less repetition in the novel. The narrator is an elderly man who, because of his lifelong regret, is motivated to tell his truth. The “author of this book” describes Harley as a “garrulous old man fond of digressions and personal asides who . . . could be repetitive” so a publisher asked the author to “edit, cut, and when necessary overwrite, annotate, and summarize the content.” There is little evidence of this author’s input, except for some footnotes, certainly not in terms of cutting Harley’s repetitions.

Despite some needless repetition, I enjoyed this historical novel. Anyone interested in the Shakers will learn a great deal. I loved Margaret Atwood’s comment about the book: “The Magic Kingdom confronts our longings for Paradise; also the inner serpents that are to be found in all such enchanted gardens.” The book also examines how our pasts explicate our presents. This is both an entertaining and enlightening read.

Harley Mann is a lonely man who spends his life in isolation. He feels set apart from the time his dying father pronounces him as the new head of household. At this point they’re residents in a Ruskinite commune, but the family is forced to leave it after his death and spend a stint of cruel labor on a plantation, so they jump at the the opportunity to live on a Shaker commune called New Bethany in south central Florida.

When Harley is twelve he falls in love with a tubercular 19-year-old woman who lives at a local sanitarium. He doesn’t understand the different between love and an obsession, which is what she becomes. An additional problem, since Shakers take vows of celibacy, they are forbidden to consummate their relationship. Without progeny, the commune faces obsolescence.

After years and deaths the remaining members relocate back to New York, where they had come from. Having alienated the community, Harley stays in Florida and becomes a real estate developer. Over time he acquires the New Bethany property, which he calls a kingdom, and sells it to Disney who creates another kingdom. I can say no more lest I create a spoiler.

This is a thoughtful book and would be an excellent choice for a literary book club.

Russell Banks is one of those authors that makes you expand your mind and think outside your comfort zone. This time he has written a book that should be ranked as one of his finest. It's told through recorded tapes that were found and tell the story Harley Mann. Each chapter peels back another layer of Harley Mann and how he came to be. The chapters feel like eavsdropping but you can tell Harley wanted to the world to know how he turned out the way he did. The story deals with slavery, race, The Shakers, religion, greed and about the state of Florida and how it came to be and finally Disney World. It also reads like a philosophical novel in that you know Mr. Banks is telling this story as a harbinger of things to come if we don;t pay attention to how we treat the world and each other. So much to unpack in this novel and it's good reason why it woul be a great pick for a literary book club. Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the read. The pleasure was all mine.

I have long been a fan of Russell Banks’ writing and his latest novel, The Magic Kingdom, does nothing to dampen my enthusiasm. In this multilayered story, in which he uses the technique of “found” tapes produced by the main protagonist in his old age, Banks interweaves the philosophy and experience of a small band of Shakers who have migrated from the Shakers’ primary location in upstate New York to Florida, with the story of Harley, the memoirist, and Sadie, a somewhat older consumptive young woman whose last years are spent as a guest of the colony. Acting out of his obsessive love, and acting as a 19-year old male is wont to act, Harley brings unwanted notoriety to the group, whose few remaining members decamp from their very large tract of land back to New York State. That land - what was to have been the Shaker’s Magic Kingdom - becomes the site for Disney World. Although there is a touch too much space devoted to explaining the Shakers’ religious philosophy, The Magic Kingdom tells a compelling story that is relevant to today’s times. Written in gorgeous prose, it is a book for serious readers. Highly recommended.

Delighted to include this title in the November edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction, for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

This is the first book I read by Russell Banks and I'm sure it won't be the last as I fell in love with the storytelling and this story after some pages.
A fascinating, vivid, and well written story. Great characters, excellent storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Banks is a magnificent writer, but there's barely a story to tell here. It goes on for far too long and completely glosses over in just a few paragraphs the part that I wanted to actually read about: the acquisition of the Shaker land by Disney.

Tapes are found recording a man’s life in St. Cloud, Florida. They lay untouched for years until he rediscovers them and starts to listen.

This book has the feel of The Grand Budapest Hotel to me. Another is looking through the lens of someone else’s life. The concept was very interesting and I was hooked early on. The reader appreciates Harley’s character and how his story is told. At times there seemed to be too much detail that teetered on taking away from the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the advance readers copy. The thoughts expressed are my own.

I’m still processing this novel and would probably rate it 3.5 stars. Based on some true events, the novel traces the fall of a shaker community in Florida, on the land that eventually becomes Disneyworld. The framing device of the story was clever and I enjoyed the interludes of the “reels,” where Harley Mann narrates the story and speaks directly to the author/reader, the pacing felt slightly off to me, as the story sort of plodded along. I feel like banks was trying to tackle a lot of big ideas in tackling love and obsession, interspersing history of shakerism, capitalism/materialism, family, ambition, etc. however, I do feel like as if there are too many ideas and throughlines to follow. Banks can’t be faulted for sheer ambition and this was written very well and there are pieces here that are worth savoring. However, the execution falls short and as a whole it was truly a middle of the road read for me.

(Advanced copy provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for an advanced copy of the historical novel about Florida and a time before Disney.

Sometimes a title gives a reader preconceptions. In this case readers won't be too off as the Most Magical Place on Earth is mentioned, and in fact is almost a character in the novel, and does cast a castle- like shadow over things. However this novel begins well before Mickey was even a gleam in Walt's or Ib Iwerks, and deals with life, love, truth and believing in things, and being used by that same belief. In The Magic Kingdom, Russell Banks tells the life of an original Florida Man and life on the land before Disney, when it was a religious settlement, before the narrator's action brought it down.

Russell Banks, our author begins the book with a story about finding garbage and instead found a life told in full. After the passing of Hurricane Irene, the town of St. Cloud was flooded. A month later on a fishing trip Banks stops at a library where he finds a box of reel to reel tapes, in a saturated books, ready for the dumpster. For some reason Banks saves the box, and places them on a shelf, where they remain for years. Coming across the tapes while cleaning, Banks buys a reel to reel player and begins to listen. What unfolds is our story. Harley Mann, a retired real estate speculator has at the age of 80 decided to share his life and adventures for a variety of reasons. Coming at a young age after his father grew sick, his family was taken in by a Shaker community on the lands that one day would be owned by Disney. Harley falls for a young woman who is sick, and presumed dying, an action that will have a huge effect on this community and their future.

A fictional tale based on real people and real events, but told in a different kind of way. The reel to reel is interesting allowing the character of Harley to share events form almost a century ago, and yet allows Banks to give him a voice, and let his character show through his speech, which is sometimes a tad archaic. Banks does a good job of clearing up discrepancies in the narrative, filling in with facts or conjecture, like in a real biography, and is able to keep the story moving and not bog down with too much in the way of information dumps. The story is different, and yet I wanted to know what was going on, and what led Harley to talking on tapes by himself. The history is engaging, and Banks is very good at melding the two together.

I've long been a fan of Russell Banks. Forgone and Sweet Hereafter are two books I always find myself recommending, for different reasons. This one is different, a little harder to get into, and with a narrator that gradually gets on the nerves, but this is still a very good book. A look at Florida and life before it became a running joke, and a story that does stay with you when finished.

I’m torn - I did enjoy this book while but ultimately I came away disappointed. A work of historical fiction, The Magic Kingdom tells the story of the demise of a Shaker community in early 1900’s Florida. Located in the area that would eventually become Walt Disney World, the community is rocked by a scandal centering around the narrator, an unfortunately unlikeable character. Fascinating but long winded and repetitive.

This is an interesting yet somewhat sluggish story that blurs the line between fiction and non-fiction. While it claims to be an explanation of the Shaker lifestyle and community in central Florida, as well as its downfall, it is, at its core, a love story. None of the characters were particularly relatable or even likable. While I did not outright dislike this book, I would be hard pressed to ever read it again or even recommend it.

I'm not sure what to think about Russell Banks' The Magic Kingdom. The book begins with a fictional set-up in how the book will be structured and how it was "found". From there, we dive into the recordings of Harley Mann, a young boy who emerges from a Ruskinite community and moves, eventually, into a Shaker community. The development of Florida around the Orlando area was very interesting to read about. I would have liked a LOT more on Disney World, however. Ultimately, the story was bogged down with lengthy discussions of Shaker philosophy and descriptions of nature. A good bit of editing could have been done.


*Special thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing Group for this e-arc.*